Time to Torture
by LittleMonkeyDog
Summary: An old enemy of the team resurfaces eager to get revenge. Warning: (mild) torture of one member
1. Chapter 1

**FF A-team: Time to torture**

Their latest mission had once again been a big success and everyone was relieved that it was over. This time no flying was needed, so B.A. happily drove his van back to L.A. with the Colonel in his usual seat beside him. Hannibal puffed on his cigar while glancing to the back of the van. Murdock was sprawled out on the floor sound asleep. Face was also asleep in his usual chair, but pain was etched on his handsome features. Hannibal sighed.

"You worried 'bout him too, Hannibal?"

"Hmm. He said he was fine."

"He ain't lookin' fine to me."

"That's because he isn't. The kid is just too stubborn and too proud to admit he got hurt."

"He got thrown down hard, Hannibal. Bet is them ribs of his."

"That's what I'm thinking too, B.A. I'm gonna keep my eye on him tonight just to be safe. I don't like the look on his face."

B.A. glanced in his rear-view mirror and also noticed the painful grimace on Face's face.

"I'll drop the fool off at the nut house first then drive you home."

It didn't take B.A. long to get to the V.A. building. He parked his van in a dark spot at the parking lot while Hannibal woke up Murdock.

"Up and at 'em, Captain. You're home!"

Murdock immediately sat up straight his hair sticking in all directions as he somehow lost his favorite cap while sleeping. He grabbed his cap from the floor, rubbed his tired eyes and sat in his chair for a few seconds to compose himself. He glanced sideways towards his best friend who was still sleeping and frowned.

"You're not gonna leave him alone tonight, are you Colonel?"

"No, Captain. Don't you worry. I'll keep an eye on him. You just sneak back inside and get some rest. You look like you can use some."

"I know, but I'm worried about Face."

"You ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout, fool. Hannibal is with him. He ain't goin' nowhere."

"I'll call you in the morning, Murdock, and let you know what's going on."

Murdock took one last look at his best friend, opened the sliding door of the van and snuck back to the V.A. B.A. drove the van to Hannibal's place. Face had scammed him a nice and cozy beach house. Upon arrival, B.A. parked the van around the back.

"No need to wake him, Hannibal. He'll only start to whine. I'll carry him inside."

"Good point, Sergeant."

Hannibal opened the door and got inside. B.A. followed a little while later carrying Face over his shoulder. The young Lieutenant was softly moaning in pain while being carried inside the house. Hannibal showed B.A. the way to the guest room and helped him to lay Face down on the bed. The act made him groan in pain and woke him up.

He blinked and looked around the unfamiliar room.

"You're at my place, kid. I decided you needed to spend the night."

"Hannibal … I told you .. I'm …"

"Fine? You ain't fine, Face."

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little stiff."

"Face. You have this painful look written all across your face and you just groaned in pain. Now cut the crap and tell me what's going on."

"Hannibal …"

"That's an order, Lieutenant."

"Okay, okay. My ribs are somewhat sore."

"Sore, huh. Let me have a look."

Face sighed.

"The man asked you somethin', sucka. If I have to help, you ain't gonna wear that fancy shirt no more after this. I'll rip it to shreds."

Face slowly started to unbutton his shirt.

"Speed it up, Face. He ain't got all night."

When he was finally done unbuttoning his dress shirt, Hannibal immediately noticed the black and blue bruising on Face's ribs.

"This is not nothing, Lieutenant. This is serious business."

Hannibal gently began to check whether Face's ribs were merely bruised or fractured. Face tried to pretend that he was alright, but Hannibal noticed how he held his breath at each touch.

"I think you got lucky. It seems to me that your ribs are severely bruised, but not broken. But I could be wrong. How's the pain?"

"Oh …"

He paused as he noticed B.A.'s angry scowl.

"It hurts somewhat."

"Face?"

"Fine. It hurts. A lot."

"Now, that wasn't so hard was it? B.A. get the first aid kit from the van. I'll wrap up those ribs of yours and give you something for the pain."

B.A. ran to the van to get the requested merchandise and Hannibal already handed Face a cup of water and a couple of pain pills. He ordered Face to take them straight away.

"Now, Lieutenant, be a good boy and take off your shirt and sit up so I can wrap up those ribs of yours."

Face rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Hannibal taped him up and ordered him to get some sleep. That wasn't too difficult with the pain medication in his system. The very next morning, Face met his Colonel at the breakfast table.

"Hi, kid. How are you holding up?"

"Me? I'm just peachy, Hannibal."

"Yeah right. Who are you kidding, kid?"

He sighed. Why did Hannibal have to know him this well? The pain killers had stopped working around 2 AM and Face hadn't been able to sleep anymore due to his painful ribs. He was exhausted.

"When did the pills stop working exactly?"

"Two am."

"Why didn't you wake me up, huh? I could have given you some more pills."

"You needed your rest too, Hannibal."

"So do you. I don't like this, Face. We should get you checked out at the hospital."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm no medical expert. It might be a bit more than bruised ribs and besides I don't wanna take any risks. It's not negotiable, Lieutenant."

Face sighed.

"Have some breakfast, take a quick shower and I'll take you to the hospital."

About an hour later, Face got into the car and Hannibal drove the both of them to the hospital. Neither of them noticed that they were being followed …


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hannibal registered his friend and explained what had happened. He waited in the waiting room while Face was called back by a pretty nurse. She accompanied him to a separate room and made him sit down on the examination table already.

"What is your problem uh … Mr. Smith?" She asked Face.

"Well … uh … I was in a fight and I got punched. You know. No big deal really."

"That's not what your dad told us. He seems to be really worried about you. He said you got punched in the ribs and were in a lot of pain."

"Oh well …"

"Did you even get any sleep last night? You look so very tired to me."

Face was dazzled when this cute looking nurse with long blond hair and dreamy green eyes ran her hand through his hair. So he turned on the charm a few notches.

"No. None at all. The pain … it was just too much."

"Oh you poor thing," said the nurse as she kept running her fingers through his soft locks.

Face thoroughly enjoyed the attention she gave him.

"Let's have a look. Maybe I can do something for you while you wait for the doctor to come and see you. Do you need some help?"

She pushed his jacket from his shoulders and her hands eagerly found their way to the buttons of his dress shirt and Face let her. He merely smiled at her. It didn't take the young nurse long to unbutton his shirt and to reveal the black and blue bruising on his chest and abdomen.

"OMG," she said while gently running her hand over his ribs. "That sure looks painful. You'll need to get these x-rayed."

Face nodded his head.

"The doctor still has a few patients to see. Would you like me to give you something for the pain already?"

"Oh yeah … That would be nice," Face answered her without trying to sound like he was begging for something. His ribs were really giving him a hard time.

She helped him take off his shirt completely and gave him a shot with a strong painkiller. She also helped him to lie down on the examination table as to keep the pressure from his ribs. She once again ran her fingers through his hair and told him she had to go and take care of the other patients, but he could call her if he needed anything. Face was able to get her to write down her phone number for him before she left. Now he would have to wait awhile for the doctor to come and see what was going on. The drug started to kick in and he was drifting off to sleep as he was still exhausted. Face closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him …

What he didn't know was that Douglas 'Dougie' Kyle had been secretly sneaking up on the team. He had noticed how B.A. had dropped off Hannibal and Face and that Face seemed to be injured. Dougie still held a grudge against the team for messing up his latest mission and he desperately wanted to get back at Hannibal. He knew the best way to hurt Hannibal was to get to his Lieutenant. So when Hannibal and Face left the house and drove up to the ER, Dougie merely followed them and snuck in behind them. He noticed how Hannibal stayed behind in the waiting room and decided to make his move.

He knew where the nurse took Face and saw her leave shortly after. He decided to get a closer look and noticed how Face was lying down on the examination table and apparently had dosed of probably due to a painkiller or something like that. Dougie had an evil grin plastered all over his face. This was going to be so easy. Too easy really. He grabbed a wheelchair and hurried inside of the room Face was in. Face was sound asleep due to complete exhaustion and so Dougie somehow managed to get him into the wheelchair and wheel him out without anyone getting suspicious.

Hannibal was still waiting in the waiting room. Face had been gone for nearly an hour and a half and still hadn't returned. He was pretty sure his Lieutenant would have to have x-rays, but now he was wondering what was going on. He had introduced himself as Face's dad, so he was pretty sure the doctor would discuss his son's injuries with him. A doctor and the nurse that had accompanied Face now came walking out of the ER. The nurse pointed at Hannibal and he stood up and walked up towards the two of them.

"Are you Mr. Smith's dad?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, I am. What seems to be the problem with my son?"

"We can't seem to find him."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Nurse Bradley had a quick first look at your son's injuries to assess the situation and she gave him something for the pain as he seemed to be in a lot of pain at the time. When she left the room, he was dozing of. He wasn't in there when I came in about 15 minutes later."

Hannibal was in full alarm now.

"Can you take me to his exam room?"

"Yes, sure," the doctor answered him as they accompanied him back to the room.

There was no sign of Face, but Hannibal noticed Face's blue Armani jacket still hanging on one of the chairs. The kid would never forget one of his beloved designer jackets. Hannibal grabbed the jacket and while doing that a note fell out of one of the pockets. Hannibal carefully picked up the note and started to read it:

 _Hi Colonel Smith,_

 _So you found this note. Congrats! I knew I needed to put it in the pockets of Peck's expensive jacket for you to find it. So you have his jacket, but no Lieutenant Peck. Want to know what happened to him? I've grabbed him, Hannibal. It was convenient that he was exhausted and injured and fell asleep. Yes, you've read that correctly. I kidnapped your precious Lieutenant and I bet you want him back. Don't you? Here's what we'll do. We'll play a little game. I'll send you a DVD and some clues where to find Peck every day. You have about a week to get him back. If you haven't found him by then, I'll personally see to it that he gets killed. Do you like the game so far, Colonel? I bet you do. Better get home now and wait for that DVD. I'm sure you're gonna love the surprise. – D. Kyle_

Hannibal's blood started to boil. Kyle. He hated that man so much and now he got to Face. Hannibal mentally cursed. Why did he have to leave Face alone in that examination room? He knew the kid was exhausted and would have a hard time staying alert.

"What happened? What does the note say?" The doctor asked all worried by now.

"Someone kidnapped my son," Hannibal stated sternly. "Nobody lays a hand on my boy and gets away with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"This is very serious, Mr. Smith," stated the doctor. "We should call the police straight away."

"That won't be such a good idea," Hannibal said wondering whether or not he could trust this doctor and nurse, but they seemed to be genuinely concerned about his 'son'.

"Why not?" The nurse asked.

"Well, it's a long story," Hannibal started, "but basically we're wanted by the military. Your patient is not really my son, but he is a member of my team. We all know the man that kidnapped him. He is plain crazy and wants to get back at us for boycotting his latest mission."

"But what are you going to do if we can't call the police?" The doctor asked all worried.

"We're going to get him back ourselves. Me and my team that is, but I expect that we might need some medical help for him once we get him out."

"Yes, sure. No problem. As soon as you found him, contact me or bring him in. And uh … good luck."

Hannibal quickly left the hospital and started to dial B.A.'s number as soon as he was in the car. He explained to him what had happened and told him to meet him at his place. He would spring Murdock first. Hannibal decided to call Murdock first and the latter was so upset that he managed to get himself out before Hannibal even arrived at the premises. They drove back to Hannibal's place full speed and met up with B.A. Hannibal checked his mailbox only to discover an envelope. He opened it up while entering the house and discovered a DVD and a piece of paper with some random words written on it.

Hannibal inserted the DVD in the DVD player and the team held its breath. The first image they saw was that of Face tied to a chair with his dress shirt unbuttoned. The guys could clearly see the black and blue bruising on his chest and abdomen from the previous fight. The camera panned to Dougie Kyle who was now standing beside Face and he started to talk into the camera. He told the team that he would send them DVD's of Face every day and that they would also find some clues as to where to find him in the envelope. He gave them a week and threatened to kill Face if the team wouldn't find him by then. Like the true soldier he was, Face didn't even blink or look scared at all upon hearing these threats. He tried to stay as calm as he could knowing fully well that what was to come wouldn't be good.

"Well. I've got nothing else for you," said Dougie smiling evilly. "Let the fun begin."

He turned around and started to hit Face in the face first. Being tight to the chair he could do nothing to prevent this from happening. Within a matter of minutes he had a split lip and blood was seeping from his nose onto the collar of his light blue shirt. Dougie now started to pound hard on his chest and abdomen which was already bruised. Face closed his eyes and willed the pain to go away. Each punch left a burning sensation to his already beaten and battered ribs. He tried very hard to breathe through the pain which wasn't at all easy. And Kyle kept on going.

Hannibal's knuckled were starting to turn white.

"He ain't getting away with this, Hannibal. I'm gonna get him for hurtin' on Face."

Hannibal kept his eyes trained on his second-in-command still being beaten to a pulp. Face was still being the brave soldier and this enraged Kyle even more.

"He ain't gonna last much longer."

"Pass out, Facey. Just pass out."

A couple more punches to his ribs and abdomen and Face indeed passed out in pain. His head limply lolled to the side. Kyle viciously grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head back up to check whether he was actually out.

"Well, it seems pretty boy didn't last that long," Kyle sneered. "But he did act like a tough soldier. This time that is. You better start checking those clues and go look for him. The clock is ticking. If you haven't found him by tomorrow, there will be a new DVD. I'm looking forward to playing this game with you, Colonel Smith."

"Get that envelope will you, Murdock," Hannibal said doing his best to compose himself. "We need to get Face out of there as fast as we can."

Murdock emptied the contents of the envelope on the table and the team gathered around to look at the clues.

"Man, Hannibal. These are just words. We ain't gonna find much with them."

"We have to at least try, big guy. He's holding Face. We have to get him out of there. You saw what he did to him. What else will he be doing to him?"

"I rather not think about that, Murdock. We need to try and think the way that slime ball thinks. We all know he's crazy, but he's not too smart."

They spend the rest of the evening trying to figure out where Face could be held, but somehow needed more info. There was nothing to do but keep on thinking and waiting for the envelope with the next set of clues to arrive. Unfortunately they also knew there would be another DVD to watch …

Face was slowly regaining consciousness. His head was pounding, his entire body hurt like hell and he was cold. He also had no clue as to where he was … What had happened? One minute, this cute nurse who couldn't stop flirting with him had offered him a pain reliever and the next minute he was alone in this cold, empty white room which he didn't recognize. It certainly wasn't the ER room anymore. The room was dimly lit and even this feeble light caused him to squint his eyes. However, he had to have a look at his surroundings. He was lying down on a thin mattress on the cold, dirty floor and tried to sit up to get a better look around. But that was easier said than done. As he tried to sit up, he was hit by waves of excruciating pain in his abdomen and he fell back hard on the mattress causing his head to hurt even more. He was breathing hard and was on the verge of passing out again. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing to will the pain away. He had noticed blood stains on his dress shirt and wondered where the blood came from. With his eyes still closed he softly touched his hurting cheek only to find that it was swollen. That explained some of the pain he felt already. He also touched his nose which was very painful to this point and also swollen. Damn I broke my nose somehow, he thought to himself. That could also explain the loss of blood.

He tried to figure out what was happening to him as it suddenly dawned on him that he saw someone familiar last night when he came to. He remembered being tied to a chair. A camera was placed in front of him. And then that familiar face. Kyle. Douglas Kyle. Chills ran down his spine. Kyle was a lunatic. He had been kidnapped by him a couple years back along with Murdock and B.A. and Hannibal had managed to get them out. Hannibal. His friends. He hoped they would come up with a plan to get him out of here. He was too weak and too hurt to even think about escaping. He closed his eyes again and let the darkness consume him.

When he woke up again a couple of hours later, he felt even more miserable. His whole body hurt. Every movement caused him to shut his eyes firmly. He needed to figure out where he was. It was of vital importance. Somehow he had to get that info to the team. He mentally tried to block out the pain and look around at his surroundings. The white room. No furniture. Cold. White brick walls. A thin mattress on the floor. A small dimly lit room. A storage room of some kind? Or what? Where was he? Focus for God's sake. Think. Pain shot through his body once again and he groaned in pain. How he wished he could go to the hospital for treatment now. Suddenly his eyes opened wide as recognition hit him. An empty, white, small, cold and dimly lit storage room with no furniture. That could only mean one thing. He was in the hospital's basement.

Thoughts raced through his head. He was the team's second-in-command, so he needed to come up with a plan. What would Hannibal do if he were in this mess? Fighting his way out of this was not an option in his weakened state due to his injuries. So only clever thinking could get him out. He vaguely remembered hearing Kyle say that he would send videotapes to the team every day. That was his only chance to get the info to them. The minute Kyle would turn on the camera he would have to engage him in some sort of conversation to get a coded message across. He had to smile at that despite the pain and the cold he felt. He could talk his way out of anything. Right? The only problem would be that he'd have to wait until Kyle was ready for his next move. Shivers ran down his spine. What would that lunatic be up to now? It couldn't be good.

The sound of a key being turned in the lock woke him up from his reverie. He winced in pain while trying to sit up and scoot closer to the wall for some sort of support of his weakened frame.

"I see you're up," Kyle said smirking. "So how do you like your stay at the Douglas Kyle Hilton so far, Peck?"

"I have some complaints. You offer a lousy service. Ever heard of room service and a mini bar? And what's with the required standards you're supposed to meet? Huh. I think you're in need of a new management."

"Very funny. You're still a wise guy with a big mouth. That's all you can do. Isn't it. Talk. Why don't you fight your way out of here, huh Peck? Oh that's right. Hand-to-hand combat is not your strong suit and you don't have your team mate to protect you now. Oh and you're injured too and probably in a hell of a lot of pain. Am I right?"

Kyle viciously and without any warning kicked him hard in the stomach. Face doubled over in pain, but refused to cry out. His vision was swimming and he tried very hard to control his breathing so he wouldn't pass out. Kyle placed a tray on the ground in front of him.

"Got you some water and some bread, Peck. I wouldn't want you to die on me just yet. You're not gonna spoil my fun."

He turned around on his heels and left Face alone. Face groaned in pain once Kyle left. He didn't dare to move a muscle for a while, afraid that he would pass out from the pain he was in. So he just sat there for a while slumped against the wall until he felt the pain gradually ebb away. He sat up very carefully and decided he needed to at least try to eat and drink and he needed to take it slow to avoid getting sick. He had to try to keep his strength until he could convey his message to his team.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Face half leaned against the wall and had dozed off for a while allowing his bruised and battered body to rest somewhat. He awoke brutally from his semi-peaceful slumber when the door swung open full force and Kyle entered the dimly lit room. He came in and set up the camera and placed a chair in the room. Face held his breathe in anticipation of what was yet to come.

"Time to have fun, Peck," he stated while laughing menacingly.

He walked over to Face, pulled him off of the mattress he was sitting on and nearly dragged him towards the chair he had placed in the middle of the room. He pulled Face's arms roughly behind his back and tied them together eliciting a soft hiss from his lips. Kylie walked over to the camera and pushed the record button. He walked back over to Face and towered over him.

"What's the matter, Peck? No big mouth now? Pain too much for you?"

"Nothing a little attention from that cute nurse at the hospital couldn't fix."

"You big fat liar. You're nothing but a worthless lying and cheating excuse for a Lieutenant. Those bruises are not a pick-nick in the park. You must be in a lot of pain right now."

"I've been through worse while at basecamp in 'Nam. Somehow, I seem to attract sleaze bags wherever I go and they just happen to love to take swings at me. My body has gotten used to it over the years. I mend easily."

Kyle got ever more enraged while listening to Face talk.

"Well you ain't gonna heal that easily this time, hot shot. I'll make sure of that. You're gonna wish you were never born."

He walked back up to Face and untied one of his arms. Meanwhile he started to talk to the camera.

"Okay, Smith. Here we go a second time. Still have that precious Lieutenant of yours and he's seriously starting to get on my nerves with all of his smooth talking. Don't you ever get tired of that smart mouth of his?"

He turned around and viciously hit Face in the face. He was dazed for a little while.

"If he keeps this up, he might not live to see the end of the week."

Face kept a poker face not showing any kind of emotion to his capturer, but held his breathe. Kyle was mentally unstable and capable of anything.

"But for now, I need to find something effectively to shut him up for a while."

He swiftly grabbed a hold of Face's wrist and bent it backwards full force until both bones in his arm snapped. The pain was overwhelming. All color drained from his handsome face. He had shut his eyes and did his utmost best not to cry out in pain. Kyle viciously grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Nice work. Don't you think, Peck," he said venom coating his every word.

He grabbed Face by the throat and made him open up his eyes and look at the damage done to his wrist. Face tried to get a grip as he was forced to look at his limp wrist. It was clearly noticeable that the bones had shifted already and pain shot up to his shoulder. He felt sick just looking at it, but tried to control his breathing as to not show any discomfort to his capturer.

This enraged Kyle even more. He wanted nothing more than to make the young Lieutenant scream on camera.

"What's the matter with you, Peck," he said. "Why won't you scream out in pain? It must hurt like living hell."

Face couldn't say a word, but managed to glare at his capturer. As a result Kyle forcefully grabbed his already broken wrist and twisted it even more. Face squeezed his eyes shut as pain shot throughout his entire arm. Bones snapped some more and pierced the skin of his arm and Kyle kept on adding pressure to his wrist. Face had to gasp for breath and he was as white as a sheet by now. The added pressure wasn't doing him any good. He felt sick to his stomach by now due to the pain and had a hard time keeping control of the situation. His whole body started to shake and Kyle knew he would be losing his battle soon so he kept on adding pressure to the broken bones. Finally, Face lost all control and screamed out on top of his lungs before passing out.

Once again, Kyle made sure the DVD was delivered to the team. Hannibal put it into the DVD player and the rest of the team gathered around it with worried faces. The DVD started with Kyle talking about how much he hated Face's talking and him breaking the poor guy's wrist. Pure anger was written all over Hannibal's features.

"He broke Facey's wrist just like it was some sort of twig."

"He ain't getting' away with this, crazy fool. I'm gonna make sure of that. I'm gonna hurt him real bad for doing this to Face."

"I've just about had it with that scum bag. We need to get Face out of there. Now."

"Do you have a plan, Hannibal?"

"We need to find more clues as to where he's being held. Murdock, would you rewind the DVD?"

Murdock did what he was told and when the DVD started playing once again the conversation between Face and Kyle was also shown. They guys all listened intently.

"Pause it, will ya Murdock."

"What's up, Hannibal?"

"We need to listen to the whole conversation again. I think Face is trying to get a message across to us with clues as to where he is being held."

"He is?"

"Yeah. He is. I'm sure he is. Now listen carefully."

"He talks about the cute hospital nurse, basecamp and how he mends easily."

"I believe he's being held at the basement in the hospital."

"That's right, Captain. Just what I thought too."

"He ain't dumb. Did a great job with that. But he ain't lookin' too good to me. Better go get him."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The team jumped into the van and B.A. drove it back up to the hospital. He parked the van somewhere safely hidden from sight and team discussed the tactics of their attack. They weren't too sure that Kyle was handling alone, so they had to lay low and watch the place at first. Meanwhile, Hannibal would go on all dressed up unrecognizable to have a word with the doctor and nurse as they would be needed very soon to take care of their injured teammate.

So far their plan worked out great. Hannibal managed to talk to the doctor and nurse and they would be on stand-by. The doctor had also provided him with a map of the hospital's basement which did come in handy. B.A. and Murdock had kept an eye out for Kyle and eventually he had showed up and had snuck inside of the hospital's back entrance dressed as someone from the cleaning crew.

When Hannibal returned, he was briefed by his team about Kyle. Nobody else was seen entering the back entrance of the hospital, so they assumed he was working alone on this one. The members of the team were all death serious. Images of the last DVD when Kyle had viciously broken their Lieutenant's wrist were still fresh in their minds. They were all enraged by now at what was being done to their friend and also very worried about him.

He had been tough, but his friends had seen the pale color of his skin and the utter pain etched on his handsome features. What worried them even more was that he had passed out in pain a couple of times. All they wanted to do was get him out of their alive and as soon as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Armed with their automatic rifles, the team cautiously snuck into the hospital's basement using an entrance the doctor had indicated on the map. The first thing they needed to do is find out where Kyle hung out and where he was holding Face. It didn't take them very long to find out where Kyle was hiding. He was busy collecting all kinds of stuff to torture the poor young Lieutenant. He also had gathered quit a collection of firearms and the team realized they needed to be extra careful.

Kyle got up, took a tray and grabbed a bottle of water and some dry bread to put onto the tray. This was it. The moment they needed to seize control over the situation. The A-team members quietly snuck behind him as he made his way over to the room he kept his prisoner in. Face was out cold lying on a thin mattress in the corner of the room near the wall. His arm with the broken wrist was lying limply beside him and blood soaked his once crisp white shirt. His face showed clear indications of a thorough beating and his beautiful blond hair was sweat soaked. He would be in no condition to take part in the fighting and he would also be needing assistance from his team to get out of the basement all together.

The sight of his second-in-command's condition enraged Hannibal even more and he launched himself onto Kyle who didn't anticipate him coming at all. But Kyle wasn't about to give up without a fight. He managed to deliver a couple of strong blows to Hannibal, but that's when B.A. jumped in to assist his Colonel. Murdock kept rear guard as to reassure that nobody else would come in to assist Kyle. B.A. took all of his anger out on Kyle who didn't stand a chance against the bulky and strong Sergeant. Meanwhile, Hannibal made his way over to his injured Lieutenant.

He took of his black gloves and softly checked Face's pulse. His pulse was very weak he also noticed that Face felt hot to the touch. He gently brushed Face's hair from his forehead and put the back of his hand to it to feel the heat radiating off of his body. Hannibal gently shook his shoulder to get him to wake up.

"Face? It's me. You did an amazing job with those clues, kid. We took Kyle out and we're gonna get you taken care off. Right now I need you to open up those baby blues of yours, Lieutenant."

"Oh yeah … Poor Peck. He passed out on me. Just when I was starting to have some fun with him."

"Watch it, pall. Nobody messes with a member of MY team and gets away with it. Got that!"

"I've got you good this time," Kyle said chuckling. "No doubt about it. You do have a soft spot for Peck."

"I'd shut up if I were you 'cause I'm starting to lose my self-control I can assure you … you wouldn't like that. You just might end up looking like a miserable piece of Swiss cheese when I'm done with you."

"He's right, sucker. You ain't gonna feel lucky with them holes in ya. You hurt Face. Now we hurt you."

"Take care of him will ya, B.A. We need to get Face some medical attention straight away."

"On it, Hannibal. How is he doin'?"

"His pulse is weak, he's burning up and he's out. I'm gonna need to assess his injuries real quick. Murdock? Get in here."

Murdock came running through the door.

"Facey!"

"Hey, fool. Have you checked out the place?"

"Yeah, I did. Not to worry. Not spotted anyone so far. He's working on his own. How's he doing, Colonel?"

Murdock ran up to his best friend and kneeled down beside him on the floor.

"Not too good I'm afraid, Captain. I'll have to further assess his injuries."

Hannibal gently unbuttoned Face's white dress shirt to reveal his bruised and battered chest and abdomen. Murdock now looked at his best friend's wrist which was in an awkward position lying limply next to his bruised body and he also noticed the blood stains on his white shirt.

"Hannibal …"

"Yes, I saw that too."

Hannibal gently tried to undo the buttons and ever so softly tried to roll up the sleeve of Face's shirt. As soon as he had rolled it up just above his wrist, they saw how a bone had pierced the skin of Face's arm. The wound was bleeding and looked like it was infected which could also explain his fever. Hannibal and Murdock shared a worried look.

"We need to get him medical attention. Now! B.A., Murdock, see what you can find to build some sort of stretcher so we can move him."

"On it."

It didn't take them long to gather a few things together and build a solid type of stretcher. Hannibal stayed with Face the whole time. When they were finally ready, they carefully lifted the thin mattress Face was lying on and gently put him onto the stretcher making sure his arm wouldn't budge at all.

The team members made their way back up to the hospital. The doctor had showed Hannibal how they could sneak into the hospital unseen with their injured team member. Hannibal quickly made his way over to the doctor and they hurriedly made their way back to the room Face was in. The doctor wasted no time and started to examine his patient.

"He's not doing too well," he stated. "What worries me the most at the moment is his arm. I'm pretty sure both the radius and the ulna are broken. It's a complex fracture and a part of either one of the bones has pierced the skin. Due to the circumstances Mr. Peck was being held in, I think he might have gotten an infection. He needs to be operated on to set his wrist, but I can't do that right now due to his general condition. His pulse is weak, his blood pressure is low due to the loss of blood and he has a high fever. Mr. Peck I also severely dehydrated and I need to put him on antibiotics to get rid of the infection. There are also his other injuries to take into account. He's been beaten up pretty good and we'll need to x-ray his chest and abdomen to check on the actual damage done to his body.

"What are you saying, doc?"

"Right now there's not much we can do. We need to get some fluids into his system, some antibiotics, something to lower his body temperature and a strong painkiller. We need to stabilize his condition first before we can operate."

"So you want to keep him in here?"

"Yes. Absolutely. We need to keep an eye on Mr. Peck's condition."

"I understand that, doc, but it can be very dangerous for us to stay here. I told you before. We are wanted by the military for a crime we didn't commit. If they track any of us, we'll end up spending 30 years in the federal slammer and I'd like to avoid that if I could."

"I can register your friend under a false name if you like. Would that help you out? I will be his physician and I know for a fact that we can trust my nurse. He'll be in excellent hands."

"We really don't trust anybody, but I'll take your word for it doctor. But we won't leave his side. We'll stay right here with him just in case anything happens."

"Sure. Okay. We'll get you some blankets and something to eat and we'll start treating your friend. He'll be out for a while, I'm afraid."

The doctor left them alone in the room with Face for a little while and returned shortly after with his nurse and supplies to treat Face. His broken wrist was immobilized at first. Afterwards, the nurse gently cut the other sleeve of his dress shirt to get access to his arm. The team members watched her as she efficiently applied a tourniquet so that the veins in his arm would become more prominent. She then disinfected the IV site with an alcohol wipe, checked the catheter at first and inserted the needle gently into Face's skin. She checked to make sure she hit the vein then pulled back the needle and discarded it and pushed the catheter in a little further keeping pressure on Face's vein and skin. She removed the tourniquet and secured the catheter by a sterile dressing. Face hadn't even moved at all. He was still out. She explained his worried team members that the medication would start to do his job soon.

She looked at her patient who was lying in the hospital bed looking peacefully and softly ran a hand through his hair. Despite the obvious bruising to his face and the black eye he sported, he still looked very handsome.

"I just don't understand how anyone could hurt him," she said worry evident in her voice.

"The man that hurt Face ain't right in the head. He likes to just hurt people. Bad. He wanted to get to Hannibal."

"Well he did succeed. You don't just mess around with anyone of my team and get away with it."

The young nurse noticed the anger in the voice of the older man as he spoke. Murdock noticed this straight away.

"Facey is part of our unit. Our family. We're all he's got. We all met in 'Nam during the war."

"Your friend is lucky to have such great friends looking out for him," the doctor said. "No need to worry about that Kyle person. I've been in touch with the police and they're coming to pick him up. He'll be behind bars for a while. And no need for you to worry. They bought my story."

"Thanks doc. I really appreciate all the help," Hannibal said.

"May I ask what it is that you are all wanted for?" The doctor asked.

"It's a long story," Hannibal started to say. "But let's just say that we were falsely accused of robbing the Bank of Hanoi and we've been betrayed by our own country. We have been on the run ever since helping people deal with thugs and scumbags."

"Your secret is safe with us," the doctor said. "Now, we'll leave you guys alone so you can all get some rest. I pretty sure Mr. Peck will sleep through the night with the medication he's on. If there's any change in his condition whatsoever, don't hesitate to beep me. We're both on duty tonight."

The doctor and his nurse left the room shortly after that and Murdock and B.A. offered to get some coffees. Hannibal stayed behind with Face. He pulled up his chair next to Face's bed and watched his Lieutenant sleep peacefully. He grabbed his hand in his and softly squeezed it.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this, kid. You were in enough pain as it was. I should have never have let you out of my side. You just rest now, son. You'll be okay eventually. You'll just need plenty of rest to get back on your feet.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It has been a while since I updated this story. I know and I'm sorry. Life is pretty hectic at the moment. I do hope you'll enjoy this long(er) chapter to make up for the long wait. Thanks a million to to all those who follow and/or review this story.**

 **CHAPTER 6**

Hannibal wasn't just worried about the physical damage done to his second-in-command because he was sure his body would heal eventually like the doctor said. He was more worried about the psychological damage done to Face by Kyle. He knew Face was strong and could handle nearly anything, but the whole ordeal had been very personal. Kyle deliberately wanted to hurt Face to get to Hannibal. Although he didn't want any of his men to see it, the matter had hit Hannibal hard as well. He cared deeply about each and every one of his team, but had to admit that he had a soft spot for his Lieutenant. He kept a close eye on Face while the latter was sleeping peacefully.

"Jeez, kid. What has he done to you? You look a mess right now. He got you good. I'm sorry I wasn't there to get your back. I should have stayed with you. Darn it."

He sat there for a while in complete silence watching over Face with a serious look on his tired features. Murdock noticed the seriousness in the expression on his Commander's face straight away upon walking back into the room. He knew Hannibal blamed himself for what had happened. He exchanged a worried glance with B.A. who also immediately knew what was going on.

"Don't worry, Hannibal. Face. He's strong. He'll make it."

"Yeah Colonel. The big guy is right! Here, why don't you have a cup of coffee."

Hannibal gratefully accepted the offered cup.

"It's not his injuries I'm worried about," he stated.

"I know what you mean, Colonel. But he doesn't have to do this on his own. We'll be right here for him."

"I know, Murdock, but will that be enough?"

"I hope so."

They all watched Face as he was still sleeping peacefully in his hospital bed and decided they all needed to get some rest as well. One of them would be on guard and the others would take over after a couple of hours. Luckily for them nothing happened that night and Face didn't wake up either.

When morning came, the doctor decided to check on his patient. Face was still asleep, but woke up during the examination.

"Ah. Hello there, Mr. Peck. I'm glad you decided to join us."

Face didn't react. He was trying to do his utmost best to get rid of the sleepy feeling and focus on the conversation which was pretty hard for him to do. He vaguely noticed a change in his surroundings, but had no clue how he got there. The doctor explained to the worried team that Face was on a very strong painkiller due to his injuries.

"Hi, kid. You're in the hospital now and we're all here with you. You did an amazing job with those clues. We found you and got rid of Kyle. He'll be in the slammer for a very long time."

A small smile appeared on Face's tired features. Meanwhile, the doctor finished examining his patient. He decided Face still needed to get fluid and antibiotics, but he wanted to cut back on his painkiller to assess his condition further.

"We need to make sure you get some food into your system to regain your strength. And I'll make sure you get some breakfast as well, gentlemen. I'll be back in a little while to check on you."

With those words, the doctor left Face's room. Hannibal grabbed a chair and sat down next to his Lieutenant. Face's eyes were drooping.

"Oh no you don't Lieutenant. You need to keep your eyes open and stay awake."

"I can't. Tired."

"I know you are, son. But right now you need to focus and have something to eat."

"You ain't got no meat left on them bones and you was skinny already."

"Not hungry."

"You ain't got no choice."

"He's right you know, Face. You have to eat whether you want to or not."

At that exact moment, the nurse entered the room carrying a tray with breakfast for Face.

"Hi, Mr. Peck," she said. "I'm glad to see you're awake. I've got some breakfast for you."

She put the tray down next to his bed.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get breakfast for the others."

Face looked at the tray with food and scrunched up his nose in disgust. He so wasn't hungry.

"Would you stop it, kid. Whether you like it or not, you are going to eat something."

"Hannibal's right. You eat or I'll make you eat."

Face merely sighed. Hannibal and Murdock helped him to sit up in bed which wasn't easy with his injuries. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he tried to suppress the need to cry out in pain.

"Are you okay, kid?"

"I'm … f-fine."

B.A. raised the top half of the bed and Murdock put some soft pillows on the bed to help support his best friend. Hannibal gently eased him back down a bit. Face closed his eyes for a second as he tried to breathe through the intense pain.

When he opened up his eyes again, Hannibal was seated next to his bed.

"You're doing great, kid. Now I know you're in a lot of pain, but you need to try and eat something at least."

Face nodded his head. Hannibal handed him a slice of toast. Face took it and slowly started to munch on it. He took a couple of bites and handed it back to his Colonel.

"Want to drink something, Face?"

Hannibal offered Face a cup of coffee and he eagerly started to drink. Meanwhile, the team also ate their breakfast. Face didn't finish his. He drank all of his coffee, but only ate about half of the slice of bread. His friends encouraged him to eat some more, but he shook his head.

He was exhausted and in a lot of pain although he didn't mention that to his team mates. Hannibal noticed this anyway.

"Want to lie back down, kid?"

"Yes … thanks."

B.A. lowered his bed again and Murdock and Hannibal both helped Face to ease back down. Face was doing his utmost best to block out the pain that was slowly consuming him. It seemed to get worse with every breathe he took. He couldn't even tell what hurt the most.

"Hey, littl' brother. You ain't lookin' too good."

Face vaguely heard his team member saying something, but he didn't seem to register that he was talking about him.

"Hannibal …"

"Yes, Murdock. Must be the pain he's in. The doctor told me he would reduce the amount of painkillers to assess Face's injuries properly."

"It ain't right. He ain't supposed to suffer."

"I know, big guy. But like Hannibal said the doctor needs to assess his condition to be able to fix things again. I hate seeing my pall like this too."

"We all do, Murdock. Let me see if I can find his doctor."

Murdock and B.A. both stayed with their friend and kept a close eye on him as they watched him struggle with his ever consuming pain. They were relieved when Hannibal returned shortly with the doctor. He noticed the distress his patient was in straight away.

"Mr. Peck, I know you're in a lot of pain right now but I have to examine you so we can find out how just how badly injured you truly are. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Face had shut his eyes firmly to block out the pain, but managed to nod his head.

The doctor carefully but thoroughly started his examination and Face was able to somehow indicate how much pain he was in during the examination. The doctor said out loud what he discovered during his examination.

"Broken nose, broken cheekbone, no signs of further head trauma. He has bruised but also cracked and fractured ribs. His broken wrist still worries me the most. It's a complex fracture, so we'll need to operate. But let's get him x-rayed first."

Hannibal felt his anger rise once again and noticed the angry expressions on both faces of his team mates.

"He's a very strong young man. The pain must be overwhelming."

"Yeah, you can say that again. The kid sure is a strong one."

They all looked at his pale face which clearly showed his struggle with the intense pain he was in. He had shut his eyes firmly in the process of trying to deal with everything.

"It's over now, Mr. Peck. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Let me give you a strong sedative for the pain before we take you over to radiology."

They all stood and watched as the sedative slowly started to do its job. The pain slowly ebbed away and a small smile appeared on Face's pale and tired features as he once again was able to open up his eyes.

"Feeling better already, Lieutenant?"

Face weakly smiled at his commanding officer. Hannibal decided to accompany Face while he was taken to radiology. With the strong sedative in his system, Face no longer felt any pain and he also couldn't stop talking or flirting. Hannibal watched in amusement as he was still able to seduce the female nurses and assistants he encountered despite the state he was in and how much he enjoyed it.

After he had been taken back to his room, the doctor talked about the results with the rest of the team. Since he was no longer feverish or dehydrated, they would be able to schedule the operation to his wrist. His broken nose and jaw had to heal by themselves and his ribs were already taped. The doctor told them that they would keep him on the sedative at least until after the surgery to his wrist.

The doctor also explained to the team what he would do during the operation. Face's wrist stood in an awkward position due to the fact that both bones were broken and had shifted in the process with one bone ultimately piercing his skin. In order to correct the position of the broken wrist, the doctor would have to use metal plates and screws. These were to remain about 6 weeks into the wrist while it would be immobilized. After 6 weeks they would re-evaluate the whole thing by taking x-rays once again and also set a date for follow-up surgery as the metal plate and screws needed to once again be removed from the wrist. The doctor also explained that there would be a minor scar from the procedure which would heal nicely within the period of about 6 months.

Since Face only had a light breakfast, the operation would be scheduled in 6 hours. He wasn't allowed to eat anything anymore which wasn't much of a problem, but was allowed to drink up to two hour before the scheduled operation. Now all they could do was wait …


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** **First of all I want to apologize for taking this long to write another chapter to the story … I really truly am sorry, but I've been dealing with serious writer's block. Although I kept trying to write a new chapter, I never did like where it was going. But here we are finally. I do hope you'll like the new chapter. Thanks so much for all of the reviews. They're greatly appreciated.**

 **CHAPTER 7**

"'Bout time you came."

"What do you mean? Didn't the doctor inform you? They can only perform the procedure on an empty stomach because of the possible risks for the patient."

"Yes, nurse, he did explain all that."

"Oh. So … uh … you were just worried about your friend then."

"Worried? He's been drivin' us up the wall! Fool's been talkin' crazy jibber jabber non-stop for 6 hours. I ain't cuttin' it no more."

"What are you sayin, mudsucker? We had a great time, didn't we Facey?"

Hannibal chuckled.

"You would say that, crazy fool. He ain't right in the head just like you."

"Mr. Peck is on very heavy painkillers right now. They tend to make the patient very giddy and hallucinations are also very common with this type of painkiller."

"The kid sure has a vivid imagination."

"It ain't funny, Hannibal."

"Don't worry, B.A. He'll be out for a couple of hours now until the anesthetic wears off."

Face was still talking to his best friend and didn't pay any attention to the ongoing conversation. All of a sudden he noticed the presence of the young nurse who merely smiled at him.

"Oh hi. Sorry, Murdock. My date is here. Got to go now."

"What date, fool. She ain't goin' on no date with you. You's in the hospital."

Face pretended not to hear his friend and smiled his million dollar smile. B.A. merely rolled his eyes and Hannibal watched the scene in amusement.

"No date, kid. You need surgery. "

"Surgery huh. Uh … right."

"Yes, I've come to prep you for surgery. I need to check a few things before we can get you to the O.R."

She took his temperature and blood pressure at first. Off course, Face just had to flirt with her.

"I need your length and weight?"

"My length and weight huh?"

"Stop flirting and just cooperate will ya, Lieutenant."

"It's of vital importance for your anesthetic."

Face just shrugged. His brain was all foggy from the painkillers he was on, so he couldn't really answer the young nurse.

"Well, I know he's about 5' 11''."

"Yeah and he weighs about 160 lbs or so."

"That ain't right no more, Hannibal. He ain't got no flesh on them bones of his and he ain't been eatin'. He's way too skinny."

"That's alright. We don't need to know his exact weight. And we'll take into account that he has lost some weight due to malnutrition these last couple of days too."

She efficiently wrote everything down on Face's medical file.

"We're nearly ready then," she said to Face. "All you need to do is put on this hospital gown. I'll leave you to it. I'll be back in about 15 minutes to take you downstairs."

"Okay. You heard her, Lieutenant. Now strip and put on that gown."

"That thing? I'm not wearing that. Did you get a good look at this? It's so not my style or my color. I …"

"Face, stop whining. I couldn't care less that it's not the right style or color. And you shouldn't either. You'll be out like a light, kid."

"But it's hideous."

"Look kid, I'm sorry they don't have these in any designer label but you do need to wear it so they can operate on your wrist. Now get a move on."

"Why? It's my wrist …"

"Put it on, fool, before I make you."

"Okay. Okay."

When the nurse re-entered the room, Face was wearing the hospital gown like she requested although he wasn't too happy. She explained to him and the team that he would be taken downstairs to the O.R. The anesthesiologist was already waiting for them. She also explained that the surgery would take about an hour and a half and that she would come to get the team once he was in the recovery room. Hannibal watched as his second-in-command was wheeled out of the room.

"Come on, Colonel. Let's get some coffee and some milk for you, Big Guy."

"Great idea, Captain. Nothing we can do here anyway."

Hannibal informed the nurses at the nurse's station that they would head for the hospital's cafeteria. He told his team that they would be taking Face home later that night if everything went well. He would let Face stay with him while his wrist was immobilized. That way he could also keep an eye on the psychological welfare of his Lieutenant.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the nurse finally walked into the cafeteria and told the team that Face was out of the O.R. and was brought back to the recovery room. She informed them that they had already tried to wake him up successfully after the procedure. The team walked with her to the recovery room. Face was sleeping peacefully. He was still attached to all kind of monitors. Hannibal took a seat beside the head of Face's bed. They waited patiently for their friend to wake up.

"Hey, kid. Glad to have you back with us."

They all noticed that Face's wrist and part of his arm up to his elbow was in a cast.

"Oh, a cast! You've got a cast, Facey. Can I write my name on it? Can I? Can I?"

"Shut up, fool. Ain't nobody gonna sign that cast."

"But I want to and I'm sure Facey wouldn't mind. Do you?"

"Is okay, Murdock," Face managed to utter sleepily. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Murdock stuck out his tongue at B.A. who merely rolled his eyes. Murdock grabbed a pen and eagerly wanted to sign his best friend's blank white cast.

"Hey. Someone beat me to this!"

"What?"

"Look!"

Hannibal and B.A. had a closer look. Face's cast already contained multiple names and phone numbers probably from the O.R. nurses . Hannibal chuckled.

"Don' get it. Fool's injured."

"You know he can get anything done when he turns on the charm, B.A."

The doctor now entered the room.

"Gentlemen, I just wanted to let you know that the operation was successful. We've managed to re-attach one bone by using a metal plate and screws. The other one needs to heal all by itself. There is nothing we can do about that really. It will heal perfectly again given time, but it can take up to 6 months."

"Will he regain the full use of his wrist again, doc?"

"Yes, he will. He shouldn't suffer any consequences. We will need to operate again in six weeks to get the metal plate and screws out again and we'll re-evaluate at that time to see whether or not he'll need extra physical therapy or not."

"Can we take him home, doc?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid. I'd like to keep him under observation overnight because of the surgery. If all goes well, he can go home tomorrow."

"Can we stay with him?"

"Sure thing. We'll move him up to his room and I'll ask the nurse to get you some extra blankets and pillows for the night."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Face slept peacefully that night while his team members kept a close eye on him. When he finally woke up, the others were already awake and having breakfast.

"Hi, sleepyhead. So nice of you to join us."

"Haha. Very funny, Hannibal."

Face wanted to run a hand through his hair, but a soon as he tried to lift his right arm pain shot through it.

"I wouldn't do just that if I were you, kid."

"Jeez … what …"

Face still sounded sleepy.

"Let's just say it was a bad break, Lieutenant. You needed surgery. The doc had to attach a metal plate to set the bone. You'll be in this cast for at least 6 weeks."

"What? You mean I can't use my right arm. I mean … How do I get dressed or comb my hair or drive the 'Vette?"

"Look at it this way, kid. It could have been far worse."

Face sighed. Deep down he knew he was lucky. He could have been in far worse shape. You never knew what Kyle was up to.

"You're staying with me for a while, son. I'll take care of you."

"Thanks, Hannibal."

"Now let's first see if we can get you out of here."

"Can I have some breakfast first, Hannibal? I'm starving."

"Sure, kid. Here you go."

Face enjoyed his breakfast while waiting on his doctor to arrive. He was nearly finished when he walked into the room.

"Ha Mr. Peck. It's nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Don't say you're fine, fool, 'cause you ain't."

Face smiled nervously.

"Not too bad, I guess. I still feel somewhat groggy."

"Ah yes. No need to worry about that. It's the remnants of the anesthetic in your system. You'll probably feel groggy and sleepy for a couple of days, so I recommend you get plenty of rest. What about the pain?"

"My ribs still hurt …"

"Those are also going to need some time to heal, I'm afraid. I will wrap them up before you leave. These bandages need to be changed every other day. Should I send someone over to do that for you?"

"That won't be necessary, doc. I'll have him stay at my place and I can re-wrap those bandages for him."

"Excellent. It's a good idea to keep an eye on his condition. I'll also prescribe some painkillers to deal with the pain."

"So, I suppose we can take him home now?"

"Yes sure. I don't see why. Please note that he can't have solid food for at least three weeks due to his broken jaw. I'd like to see Mr. Peck again after three weeks so we can do a follow up."

"No problem, doc. I'll see to that and he'll be here for his check-up too."

The doctor signed Face's release papers and said his goodbyes for now. B.A. and Murdock already left to get the van. Hannibal had stayed behind with Face to help him get dressed. Hannibal grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweats that Murdock had found in Face's bag.

"Okay, kid. Let's get you dressed and ready to get out of here."

"I'm not wearing that. That's my training gear, Hannibal. I can't …"

"It's either this or I'll take you home in this hospital gown, Lieutenant. It really is your choice?"

"Who picked this out? Oh .. Let me guess. Murdock?"

"Look, kid, it doesn't matter. It's not like you're going out anyway. We're taking you home to get some more rest. Now with a cast it isn't easy to get you in any of your fancy shirts and if you wear your normal pair of slacks, you're gonna need me to go to the bathroom with you every time. Now I don't think you'd like that …"

"Uh. No. Not really. No, okay. I get it, Hannibal."

Getting Face dressed wasn't the easiest of jobs, but with some effort Hannibal managed to get the job done eventually. Face was relieved to get rid of the hospital gown, but also shivered slightly in his short sleeved shirt. Hannibal noticed how he shivered.

"You can borrow my coat, kid. I'll hang it over your shoulders as soon as we get you into this wheelchair to take you to the van."

"Wheelchair? I broke my wrist, not my leg. I can walk you know, Hannibal."

"Face, you're not walking out of here with your injuries."

"But …"

"No buts, Lieutenant."

Meanwhile, Murdock had arrived with Face's wheelchair. He immediately noticed the disappointed look on his best friend's face.

"Oh come on, Facey. It will be fun. I'll race you to the van."

"No, Murdock, you will not race him to the van. He's been through enough already. I'm not adding anymore injuries to the list."

Face managed a weak smile when he saw how disappointed Murdock was.

"Hey, Facey, did you notice all the names and numbers on your cast already?"

"What names and numbers?"

Face vaguely recalled Murdock asking him to write his name on his cast, but he couldn't remember anything else. He glanced down at his right arm and noticed how the once white cast was now covered in girls names with little heart signs and phone numbers.

"Yeah, kid. Even in your miserable state you manage to get the girls to fall for you. Okay, we've wasted enough time already. Let's get going."

Together with Murdock he helped Face from his bed into the wheelchair. An ordeal that was already very painful for the latter. Hannibal wrapped his jacket firmly around Face's shoulders so he wouldn't catch a cold and allowed Murdock to push the wheelchair. When they passed the nurse's station all the nurses came running out to say goodbye to Face.

"Wait a minute," one of the young nurses yelled. "We've got a little something for Mr. Peck."

She ran into the nurse's station and came back out 5 minutes later.

"We all hope you'll feel better again real soon and so we all baked you a soft cake," she said smiling at him and handing him a plate with a homemade cake.

"Oh jeez …. Thanks. You really shouldn't have," Face said managing his million dollar smile.

"It's nothing, really," the young nurse said rapidly blinking her eyelids. "Please take good care of him."

"Oh, absolutely. We'll spoil him rotten," came Murdock's reply.

They said their goodbyes and quickly made their way downstairs and to the van. Murdock and Hannibal helped Face in his chair. Hannibal retrieved a blanket from the back of the van and draped it over Face's shivering form.

"Take it easy, kid. You're not there yet. Why don't you close your eyes and get some rest, huh."

Face nodded his head while already closing his eyes. He was exhausted by now.

"Let's get out of here, B.A."

B.A. hit the gas and drove the team as fast as he could back to Hannibal's place. They decided to stay there all together for a couple of days so they could keep an eye on Face's well-being.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Face was fast asleep by the time the team arrived at Hannibal's place. Murdock tried to wake up his best friend which turned out to be a lot harder than he expected. After a while, Hannibal got in the van to check what was going on. He had been busy gathering spare blankets to cover up his Lieutenant so he could rest and relax some more in the living room.

"Murdock, what is taking you this long?"

"I can't get him to wake up, Colonel?"

"What?"

"Oh no. Not like that … He's breathing and all. He just doesn't wanna wake up."

"Here. Let me try!"

Hannibal tried to get Face to wake up using various methods, but nothing seemed to do the trick. He still slept peacefully.

"What do we do now, Colonel? We can't let him sleep in the van all day long in this heat."

"I know, Captain. There's only one solution."

Hannibal went inside his house to get B.A. and he carried his injured teammate bridal style into the house and carefully laid him down on the couch. Murdock covered him up with some warm blankets. Still Face slept peacefully.

"What's goin' on with him, Hannibal? I don't like this. This ain't right. He's been doin' nothin' but sleep."

"It's alright, B.A. His doctor informed about all of this. The sedative could have this effect on him and he'll probably still be sleepy for the next couple of days. No need to worry, guys. I think he needs the rest anyway."

It wasn't until noon when Face finally stirred. He became aware that he was no longer sitting in his chair in the van, but lying down on Hannibal's couch.

"Hi, sleepyhead. Decided to join us?"

"What time is it?"

"Lunch time, kid. Murdock is preparing us all some food."

"Hope the crazy fool knows what he's doin'. He ain't gonna poison all of us."

"Now come on, B.A. Have a little faith, will ya?"

Murdock emerged from the kitchen wearing a white apron and a white chef's head.

"Ah. I see the patient is awake," he said in a heavy French accent. "Good. I'm preparing a gourmet meal."

"Better be good, fool. Face needs his strength back."

"I know that, Big Guy. Don't ya worry 'bout that."

"So what are we having?"

"Soup."

"Soup? Man! I can't do with just soup!"

"Yes, I know that. But that is something Face can have and it's good for you. Plenty of vegetables in it."

"I agree, Murdock. Soup is always a good thing to have."

"Yeah and I happen to know that Facey is crazy about soup. Aren't you, you handsome devil?"

"Yes, you're right about that Murdock. I would like some soup. I'm kinda hungry too."

"That's a good sign, kid."

Murdock emerged from the kitchen with a cup of warm soup. Hannibal helped him to sit up somewhat so he could eat his soup.

"This stuff smells really good, Murdock."

"Why thank you, O Facial One. I do try."

Face was also grateful that Murdock had poured the soup into a cup so he could sip it rather than making a mess of things will trying to eat with his left hand or heaven forbid have one of the guys feed him. Hannibal also made sure he took his medication. Face still wasn't up to doing much of anything. He read the newspaper, talked to his friends for a little while and watched cartoons with Murdock before falling asleep once again. Hannibal watched his second-in-command snoring softly.

"Will he be okay again, Hannibal?"

"I'm sure he will be okay again physically very soon, B.A. I have no clue about the psychological impact though. He doesn't talk about it at all."

"Yeah. Fool's always pretendin' t be fine when he ain't."

"We all know that, B.A. But the doctor said not to force him to talk about it for now. His body needs to heal first. We'll deal with the rest later."

Face stayed with Hannibal for the next couple of weeks. At first, he still slept most of the time. As time passed, he didn't need that much rest anymore but started to get bored. There wasn't much he could do really with his injuries and he hated losing his independence. Still he was happy and grateful that Hannibal and the team were there for him.

Up until now, he hadn't opened up to anyone about what had happened to him. He acted as if nothing had happened at all and claimed to be alright. But Hannibal knew better and so he kept an eye on his second-in-command. He already noticed some small changes in his behavior. He was well enough by now to walk around the house and yet if he needed anything whatsoever from the basement he always came up with an excuse of some sort. Hannibal also noticed how he hated to be left alone even for a short period of time. He tensed up every time someone left and only relaxed long after they returned.

Hannibal decided to get in touch with Maggie to talk things through. She knew the team and she was also a bit worried about Face's behavior.

"I'm not sure what's going on with him, John. He may just be traumatized, but it could also be more serious."

"How serious?"

"He might suffer from PTSS. You need to keep an eye on him, John. If he has flash backs on top of his other symptoms we'll know for sure."

Hannibal decided to share the information he obtained with Murdock and B.A. They both admitted that they shared the same worries about their team mate. Face pretended to be happy and without a care in the world, but his friends knew better. Now that his injuries had healed except for his broken arm, he was able to go outside into the 'real' world again, but he had so far declined every single offer from his friends. He always came up with some sort of excuse not to have to go out to dinner in one of the fancy places he liked so much or to go shopping or to go to the beach to relax. So they all kept an extra eye on him.

One night Hannibal woke up after hearing his Lieutenant screaming in pain. He nearly jumped out of bed and headed over to his guest bedroom where Face slept. He ran to his bedside and noticed that Face was still asleep, but his breathing had picked up and his hair was sweat soaked. Hannibal pushed back his covers and noticed how Face was trembling. He knew he had to act cautious as to not scare his Lieutenant even more. He very gently ran a hand through his hair while he tried to wake him up.

"Face? Kid?"

His breathing picked up even more.

"It's me, kid. Hannibal. It's alright. You're just having a nightmare."

Face sat up straight in bed still trembling and now started to gasp for air.

"It's okay. I've got you. I've got you."

A pair of unfocused blue eyes looked at him.

"Face, I want you to listen to me," Hannibal said while grabbing a hold of Face's trembling form. "I need you to get a grip on your breathing again, kid, or you'll pass out. Now I want you to do exactly what I tell you to do. Okay?"

Face still didn't react and Hannibal knew he had to do something. He grabbed a hold of his Lieutenant's face and made him look directly at him. He also decided to use his Commanding Officer's tone of voice.

"You do what I tell you to do, Lieutenant. That's an order!"

That seemed to do the trick. Hannibal held Face's shoulder reassuringly while he told him what to do next in a calm tone of voice.

"Now I want you to breathe in slowly and deeply with me. That's it, kid. Now out again very slowly. And again. In … and … out."

Face obeyed Hannibal's command. He was still trembling and tried to breathe in and out as slowly as his body allowed him to do. Hannibal kept his hand on his shoulder to support him at all times and kept on encouraging him. Finally, Face got a grip on his breathing again.

"Face, my boy, you did a great job."

Hannibal was relieved that the whole ordeal was over, but also worried because Face looked exhausted. He wasn't about to leave the kid alone now.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Hannibal handed Face a glass of water and pulled up a chair next to his bed. He also made sure Face could sit up comfortably in his bed supported by some pillows. Face eagerly drank the water his Colonel had offered him.

"Easy there, kid. Can't have you getting sick on top of all this."

Face nodded his head.

"Face, we need to talk about what happened."

No … I'm fine. Really. It was just … uh … you know. It was nothing. Bad dream."

"Who are you trying to fool here? Kid, you're nowhere near fine. You were having a bad flash back of what has happened to you. You refuse to go to the basement and you can't stand being left alone not even for a little while. You haven't set foot outside the house since we brought you home from the hospital. You can't lock yourself up for the rest of your life, kid."

"What? I'm still recovering, Hannibal. I'm just not up to doing anything like that. That's all. I swear."

"I know you too well by now, Lieutenant. You can't fool me. Now talk to me."

"I …uh … I can't …"

"I know you can. I also know it's hard, but you have to talk about this. And I'm not going anywhere until you do. I'll be right here with you to help you deal with this."

Face was still trembling and shivering and Hannibal grabbed a spare blanket and draped it around his Lieutenant's shoulders.

"Now tell me what happened, kid. And start from the very beginning when the doctor took you back to his room at the hospital."

Maggie had told Hannibal that he needed to make sure that Face would be able to tell about what happened to him in the right order. Bringing back triggers from his subconscious to his conscious would help him get a grip on his emotions. They also would have to find out what could trigger these bad flash backs. Maggie had pointed out just how important it would be for Hannibal to actually listen to Face and to help him deal with the stress that talking about his ordeal would no doubt trigger.

Face sighed and closed his eyes for a minute. He knew he trusted Hannibal and was grateful that the team had managed to save him from Kyle. He just hated being this vulnerable, but he also realized that he had to talk about his ordeal to someone so he could get past this. Hannibal was not only his Colonel, but also his mentor and his friend. So Face started to talk about what happened. Hannibal listened carefully and supported and re-assured the young man whenever he needed it.

It was as if a heavy weight was lifted from Face's shoulder now it was all out and in the open. Hannibal never once judged him. In fact, he praised him for his courage and for his clever idea to help the team find where Kyle was holding him. Face was glad to get the story out of his system, but now felt completely drained of all energy. Hannibal noticed this straight away.

"You look tired, kid. Think you'll be able to get some more sleep?"

"I think so."

Hannibal made sure he could lie back down comfortably in bed. Face buried himself beneath his covers and his eyes were slowly drooping.

"I'm proud of you, kid. I really am proud of you. Now get some rest. You're gonna need it. And don't worry. I'll be right here with you."

Even though he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open by now, Face managed a small smile before falling asleep. Hannibal sat and watched his sleeping second-in-command for a long time. He was relieved that he had managed to get the kid to open up to him and knew that he would be alright again real soon.

I love it when a plan comes together he thought and just had to smile at that very thought. Now if only he could light up a cigar …

THE END


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